Anne Hathaway May Replace Amy Schumer in Barbie Movie

Four months after Amy Schumer backed away from Sony's Barbie movie, the project is back on the right track, with the studio eyeing both a new star and a director. Oscar winning actress Anne Hathaway has entered talks with the studio to star in this project. Alethea Jones, who makes her directorial debut with the upcoming comedy Fun Mom Dinner, is in talks to direct. However, the deal for Anne Hathaway may fall through, if some scheduling complications aren't worked out first.

The Tracking Board first broke the news that Anne Hathaway is in talks, although the deal has been in the works for several months, and has been hinted at in other publications like the New York Times and The Ankler. Neither of those reports revealed what actress was being eyed for the role. The actress' commitment to the project is dependent on her schedule, especially since she just recently signed on to star in O2 for IM Global, but the site speculates that, since the actress and studio have been engaged in talks for quite some time, they think a deal will eventually be struck.

Sony responded to the report by stating that Anne Hathaway's involvement is still "very premature," although it remains to be seen when this deal will finally go through. Amy Schumer originally signed on to star in this Barbie movie back in December 2016, and it didn't take long for Internet trolls to pounce all over this story. It also didn't take long for Amy Schumer to fire back at the Barbie haters, with a series of strongly-worded messages. However, it ultimately wouldn't matter, since she backed out in March due to scheduling conflicts, adding on social media that she was "bummed" it couldn't work out and she can't wait to see the movie.

This Barbie movie has been in the works for quite some time now, first announced in April 2014 when the studio brought in Jenny Bicks (What A Girl Wants) to write the script. Then in March 2015, the studio brought Diablo Cody aboard to rewrite the script. It ultimately isn't clear if Sony is still going with Diablo Cody's script, or if other writers have been brought in since then. No story details have been given at this time, but the Barbie movie will be produced by Amy Pascal, Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald, along with Mattel. When Amy Schumer was attached, the story followed her character in the land of Barbie, where everyone but her is perfect. She comes to the real world and learns how to love herself. While that version of Barbie was supposed to be frumpy, with some trolls meanly calling her out for being 'fat and ugly', the big difference here may simply be that Anna Hathaway's Barbie has brunette hair, making her the oddball standout in a sea of perfect blonde Barbies.

Sony had originally set the Barbie movie release date for June 2, 2017, before pushing it back a few months to May 12, 2017 before finally being moved to June 29, 2018, where it will face Warner Bros.' Tag and STX Entertainment's I Feel Pretty. Still, since no production schedule has been given yet, it's possible Barbie could be delayed yet again, unless production is put on the fast track. Anne Hathaway most recently starred in the Disney sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass and in the Neon indie thriller Colossal. She will next be seen in the Warner Bros. Ocean's Eleven spin-off Ocean's Eight, which hits theaters on June 8, 2018.